Objective of the Game

Welcome to the dazzling world of High Society, where you're not just playing a game, you're living the dream of the cultural elite! As a quintessential bon vivant, your goal is to assert your status and earn prestige in the eyes of your peers by living as lavishly and frivolously as possible. Collect the most valuable status cards to become the most fashionable, but beware: if you're caught penniless, you'll be cast out as an impostor! The player with the highest status who hasn't been cast out will earn the envy of all and win the game.

Preparation (Setup)

Getting ready to flaunt your wealth and taste is simple:

1. Each player receives a set of eleven money cards of the same color. Keep these secret in your hand – your rivals don't need to know your exact worth!
2. Shuffle all the status cards (the 10 luxury cards, 3 prestige cards, and 3 disgrace cards).
3. Place the shuffled status cards face-down in the middle of the table to form the status deck.
4. The player who shuffled the deck gets the honor of being the starting player for the first round.

The Turn of Play

High Society unfolds over a series of exciting auction rounds. Here’s how a typical round goes:

Auction Rounds

At the start of each round, the current starting player flips the top card of the status deck face-up. This is the card up for grabs!

The starting player then has two options: bid or pass.

Bidding

• To bid, you must play one or more money cards face-up in front of you.
• Announce the total value of all your face-up money cards.
• If you've already bid this round, you can only increase your bid by adding new money cards to the ones already on the table. You cannot pick up cards you've already played.
• Your new total must always be higher than the previous bid made this round.

Passing

• If you don’t want to bid, you may pass instead.
• If you have already bid this round, return all of your face-up money cards to your hand. You can no longer bid this round.

After a player has either bid or passed, the turn moves to the player to their left. This continues around the table until only one player remains who hasn't passed.

• The last remaining player wins the auction!
• It’s rare, but if everyone passes without making a bid, the last remaining player gets the status card for free.
• Place the contested status card face-up in front of the winner.
• All money cards on the table (from all players) are discarded face-down.
• The winner of the auction becomes the starting player for the new round and reveals the next status card from the deck.

Disgrace! Cards

Sometimes, the revealed status card is a disgrace card. This changes the auction dynamic entirely!

• When a disgrace card is revealed, you are bidding to avoid taking the card.
• The round ends as soon as any one player passes.
• That player picks up their money cards as usual, but must take the disgrace card and place it in front of them.
• All other players must discard their money cards on the table face-down.
• The player who took the disgrace card (the passing player) starts the next round.

Specific Disgrace Cards:

• Faux Pas: If you take this card, you must immediately discard one of the luxury cards in front of you (your choice). If you have no luxury cards, you must discard the next one you receive. Once a luxury card has been discarded, discard the Faux Pas card itself. (Remember, only cards with a value between 1 and 10 are luxury cards).
• Passé: This card reduces a player’s status by 5 at the end of the game.
• Scandale: This card halves the player’s status at the end of the game.

Discarded status cards (like the Faux Pas after its effect) are returned to the box.

End of Game and Scoring

The game reaches its dramatic conclusion when the fourth card with a dark green background is revealed from the status deck. These are the three prestige cards and the Scandale card. As soon as the fourth one appears, the game ends immediately, with no bidding for that final card.

Cast Out!

Before scoring, all players reveal their hands and announce the total of their remaining money cards. The player or players with the least remaining money are immediately cast out and cannot win, no matter how fashionable they are!

Scoring

For the remaining players, it's time to tally up your status:

1. Luxury Cards: Each luxury card awards status equal to its value. Add these up first.
2. Disgrace Cards:
   • The Passé card reduces your status by 5.
   • The Scandale card halves your status at the very end of the calculation.
3. Prestige Cards: Each prestige card doubles the owning player’s status.
   • If you have one prestige card, multiply your status by two.
   • If you have two prestige cards, multiply your status by four.
   • If you have all three prestige cards, multiply your status by eight.

The player with the highest final status that hasn’t been cast out wins!

Tie-breaking:

If there's a tie for highest status:

1. The player with the most money left wins.
2. If there's still a tie, the player with the single most valuable luxury card wins.

Remember: Your accumulated status cards are always visible face-up in front of you, while spent money cards are hidden face-down.

Tips for Winning

• Manage Your Money Wisely: Your money is your lifeblood! You need enough to win valuable luxury and prestige cards, but you also need to avoid being the poorest player and getting cast out. Don't overspend early, but don't be too stingy either!
• Know When to Pass on Disgrace: While disgrace cards are bad, sometimes taking a minor hit (like Passé for -5 status) might be better than spending a huge amount of money to avoid it, especially if you're saving for a big luxury card or a crucial prestige card. Evaluate the cost of avoiding versus taking the hit.
• Target Prestige Cards: Prestige cards are incredibly powerful, multiplying your entire status score. If you can secure one or more of these, they can dramatically boost your final score, making them worth a significant bid.